A robber armed with a gun threatened a lorry driver parked in a lay-by before stealing two pallets of whisky.

Police have launched an appeal following the incident at 3.30am today opposite Rock Caravans on the A5 in Witherley.

The driver says he was sitting in the cab of his vehicle when he was approached by the gun toting robber.

He locked himself inside the vehicle while the man and two others got into the back of the lorry and stole the whisky.

The robbers fled in a white Mercedes van towards Nuneaton.

The man with the gun is white, skinny, aged 26-28 years old, around 6ft tall and was wearing dark clothing.

Det Sgt Amjad Iqbal from West Midlands Police said: “It is important that we identify the people responsible for carrying out this robbery. Were you in the area at the time? Did you see anyone acting suspiciously? Did you see a white Mercedes van? If so we’d like to hear from you.”

If anyone has information that can help police with their investigation they should call 101 and quote incident 39 of 19th January 2017.

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org